The Olympics ethics watchdog will "monitor" developments after South Korean media said Samsung carried out illicit lobbying for Pyeongchang to be awarded this year's Winter Games, IOC president Thomas Bach said on Thursday.

Samsung, a top sponsor of the Olympics, has denied the claims made by the SBS television network that the company offered incentives to get votes from International Olympic Committee members.

Bach told a press conference during a visit to New Delhi that the allegations "have been clearly denied by Samsung, this is all that we know so far. But I am sure that our our ethics commission will monitor the situation".

SBS TV said it had obtained copies of 137 emails including messages between Samsung executives and Papa Massata Diack – the son of the scandal-tainted former International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) president Lamine Diack.

The mails included one listing 27 IOC members with voting rights in the decision for the 2018 Games, which was contested by Pyeongchang, Munich in Germany and Annecy in France.

'Success fee'

The report said Papa Diack had promised to convince each of the named members to vote for Pyeongchang.

In one 2010 mail Diack requested $12 million in funds – including a three-year, $9.5 million sponsorship for the IAAF's Diamond League athletics meetings. He also asked for a "success fee".

The emails were confiscated by South Korean prosecutors last year during a graft investigation into former president Park Geun-hye, SBS said.

As a top level Olympics sponsor, Samsung is not allowed to lobby for Games venue candidates. It strongly denied the allegations last week.

"Samsung has never engaged in any illegal lobbying activities to have Pyeongchang win the bidding", the South Korean tech giant said in a statement. read more →

Mexican middleweight Saul "Canelo" Alvarez was handed a six-month ban by the Nevada State Athletic Commission on Wednesday over the failed drug test which forced his rematch with Gennady Golovkin to be cancelled.

At a hearing in Las Vegas, the commission unanimously approved a deal that will see Alvarez suspended for six months from the date of his failed test on February 17.

The ruling means Alvarez, who did not attend the hearing, will be free to fight again in August – raising the possibility of a rescheduled Golovkin fight in September.

Alvarez tested positive for Clenbuterol twice, on February 17 and February 20, during voluntary out-of-competition tests as he prepared for his May 5 rematch with Golovkin.

He later blamed the tests on eating contaminated meat in his native Mexico, where several athletes across different sports have encountered similar problems in recent years.

The 27-year-old risked a one-year ban over the failed test, but Nevada authorities said he had been given a six-month suspension citing his cooperation with authorities.

In a statement, Alvarez's promoters, Golden Boy Promotions said they accepted the sanction – and indicated they aimed to reschedule the Golovkin rematch for September.

"Canelo looks forward to returning to the ring in September for Mexican Independence Day weekend to represent Mexico and boxing in what will be the sport's biggest event of the year," Golden Boy said.

"He is ready to continue his remarkable record of fighting at the highest level."

'Forget Mexican meat'

Any rematch between Alvarez and Golovkin will be tinged with animosity. The two fighters have traded verbal blows in the months since Alvarez's positive drug test came to light.

At a news conference in Los Angeles earlier this month, Alvarez insisted he was the victim of an innocent mistake, hitting back at claims from Golovkin that he was dope cheat.

"I am truly shocked about what has happened, and for those who have doubts and suspicions about my integrity, I have always been and always will be a clean fighter," Alvarez said. "I respect this sport. I will always be a clean fighter."

Alvarez and Golovkin fought to a controversial draw in their first meeting in Las Vegas last September, a fight most neutrals believed unified champion Golovkin had won.

Their rematch at the T-Mobile Arena next month was expected to be one of the biggest fights of 2018 but was thrown into uncertainty after news of Alvarez's drug test emerged.

Golovkin has dismissed Alvarez's claims that he ingested the Clenbuterol inadvertently, telling reporters last month at his training camp in Big Bear, east of Los Angeles, that he believed the Mexican was guilty of doping.

"Forget Mexican meat," Golovkin said. "Come on . . . Canelo's cheating. They're using these drugs and everybody's trying to pretend it's not happening."

The unbeaten 35-year-old will now fight American Vanes Martirosyan on May 5 in an open-air bout at Los Angeles' StubHub Center. read more →

Jose Mourinho has defended Paul Pogba after the Manchester United star was branded "disrespectful" by Paul Scholes.

United legend Scholes claimed Pogba's lacklustre display in Sunday's shock defeat against lowly West Bromwich Albion showed a lack of respect for Mourinho.

Scholes's criticism came amid growing speculation that Mourinho is ready to sell Pogba following the France midfielder's inconsistent form over the last two seasons.

But Pogba produced one of his better performances in United's 2-0 win over Bournemouth on Wednesday as he set up Romelu Lukaku for the second goal at Dean Court.

Asked to comment on Scholes's criticism of Pogba, Mourinho said: "I don't agree. I agree that it wasn't a good performance at all [against West Brom] – with that I agree."

Mourinho made seven changes from the West Brom loss as he axed some of his underperforming players and rested others for Saturday's FA Cup semifinal against Tottenham.

His decision to keep Pogba in the starting line-up raised questions about the chances of the midfielder retaining his place at Wembley.

But Mourinho, who has dropped Pogba several times this season, offered an enthusiastic review of his man of the match display on the south coast.

"Top performance. Top performance. Obviously the performance against City was special, coming with two goals," he said.

"But this performance was a very similar level. So top performance. He can do it."

United's return to winning ways was not enough to ease Mourinho's frustrations over Sunday's woeful loss to West Brom.

That result gifted the title to Manchester City, but Mourinho believes he can catch the champions next season.

"My face is still the face of last Sunday and not the face of somebody who just finished a game and a win," Mourinho said.

"I still live with the emotions of last Sunday.

"I know how to win titles. In case some of you guys don't know, I won eight championships in four different countries, and three in this country.

"I know why you win; I know why you don't win.

"OK, no doubts about City's quality, and that in any circumstances they would win this title because they are the better [team].

"But we could have, perfectly, I would say 10 more points than we have." read more →

All Black halfback TJ Perenara has become the highest-profile rugby player to condemn Wallaby Israel Folau's anti-gay comments, with New Zealand legend Michael Jones also saying he disagreed with the Australian player's stance.

Perenara, who shares Polynesian heritage with Folau, said homophobic remarks from an athlete of Folau's stature were particularly hurtful to young Maori and Pacific islanders struggling with their identity.

"You don't need to look far to know that young Maori/PI are overrepresented in youth suicide statistics and, as I understand it, even more so when you look to those who are part of the Rainbow community," he tweeted late Wednesday.

"Comments that cause further harm cannot be tolerated."

The 45-Test All Black added: "As professional rugby players, whether we like it or not, we are role models for a lot of young people."

Folau wrote on social media this month that God's plan for gay people was hell unless they repent their sins.

He later explained that his remarks were prompted by deeply held religious beliefs and Rugby Australia decided against sanctioning him.

'Dumb jock card is history'

Jones, the loose forward who fired the All Blacks to victory in the inaugural World Cup in 1987, said his own faith did not prevent him from accepting gays.

A devout Christian from a Polynesian background who refused to play on Sundays during his international career, Jones urged 'wisdom' from Folau.

"There's members of my family from those [gay] communities and we love them, they're integral in our lives and they're a big part of who we are," he told reporters.

"Being able to express yourself is important, but doing it respectfully, with wisdom. There needs to be a lot of love and grace, particularly as Christians."

Waikato Chiefs back Brad Weber became the first player to challenge Folau about his comments this week, saying they left him disgusted.

Perenara said young people should ignore them and realise: "It's OK to be you; you are perfect as you are."

"I am 100 percent against the comments that were made by Israel. It was not OK to say that," he tweeted.

"It's not an attitude I want to see in the game I love."

New Zealand Herald rugby writer Gregor Paul welcomed the fact that players now felt comfortable calling out intolerance, rather than shying away from controversy.

"The dumb jock card may now be consigned to history, no longer valid or appropriate for players to use," he wrote.

"They are professional athletes some of the time, but human all of the time and because of that, players have the same responsibility as everyone else to speak out against wrongdoing." read more →

Erin Popovich, the wife of San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, died on Wednesday after a long illness, the NBA team announced. She was 67.

"We mourn the loss of Erin," Spurs general manager RC Buford said in a statement. "She was a strong, wonderful, kind, intelligent woman who provided love, support and humor to all of us."

Erin Popovich is survived by her husband, two children and two grandchildren.

San Antonio's next game is on Thursday against the Golden State Warriors. It is not known if Gregg Popovich will be behind the bench.

The 69-year-old Spurs coach married his wife while he was helping coach the American Air Force Academy team from 1973-79.

Former Spurs player and now Warriors star Kevin Durant was at a loss for words but said he was willing to provide whatever support Popovich needs.

"It's bigger than the game. It's bigger than winning and losing. I feel so bad for Pop and his family. That's just tough to hear about," Durant said. read more →

Real Madrid may the favourites for the Champions League but a 1-1 draw against Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday will hardly have struck fear into Bayern Munich.

Zinedine Zidane's side started complacently at the Santiago Bernabeu and ended frantically, with Cristiano Ronaldo's 87th-minute equaliser cancelling out a delightful early chip from Athletic's Inaki Williams in between.

Barcelona's commanding lead at the top of La Liga, which now stands at 12 points over Atletico Madrid and 15 on Real, means these matches carry reduced significance and inevitably lack a certain edge.

But Zidane may at least be concerned by a loss of momentum, particularly given this side is likely to be very close to the one that starts the semifinal first leg at the Allianz Arena in a week's time.

Real have managed to hit a different gear in the Champions League knockout stages but this draw means they have now won only once in their last four matches, having strung together 11 victories from their previous 12.

"The result wasn't what we wanted today and mentally, also, we were a little off," Zidane said. "What we have to do is rest. We have five days before the game on Wednesday, we will prepare well and then we will give everything. We have a semifinal and we will fight to the death to defend our title."

Dress rehearsal

Ronaldo's late flick was his 22nd goal in 12 games and with the Portuguese in this sort of form, almost any performance can be salvaged.

But Real's night was better summed up by one moment in the second half when Sergio Ramos repeatedly failed to clear and then turned to face the crowd's jeers with his arms outstretched. The jeers grew louder.

If the Real team that faced Malaga on Sunday was aimed at resting players ahead of Bayern, this looked more like a dress rehearsal.

Ronaldo, Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, Raphael Varane and Marcelo all returned, but there was no place for Gareth Bale, who had also been left out against Malaga. His preserved energy was deemed only valuable enough for 30 minutes off the bench.

"There is no problem with Gareth," Zidane said. "I have 25 players and I have to be attentive to everyone, Bale is one of them. There are others who play and do well too." read more →

Four video assistant referees will be present at every game at the World Cup in Russia, with replays to be shown on giant screens inside the stadiums, FIFA said on Wednesday.

"Everything will be centralised in a single location in Moscow and all referees will be based in Moscow," explained FIFA's referees' chief Pierluigi Collina during a training seminar organised at Coverciano, near Florence.

Over the next two weeks two groups of 36 referees and 63 assistants will be trained for the World Cup in Coverciano, with workshops organised on the VAR system, which will be used at the tournament for the first time.

Another Italian former referee, Roberto Rosetti, explained how VAR would work during the tournament.

"There will be four VAR officials. The VAR principal will communicate with the main referee and can suggest that he comes to verify images on the sidelines," Rosetti explained.

"The VAR assistant No1 will be in charge of following the match live while the review is taking place. VAR assistant No2 will be specially in charge of offside."

Two specially adapted cameras will be used to watch out for offside players during the World Cup.

A third VAR assistant will be in charge of supporting the VAR principal, focusing on the respect of protocol and to assure good communication between the whole team.

In addition to the VAR officials there will also be four technicians in charge of screens and camera angles, with a FIFA representative present to relay decisions with explanations on giant screens.

"We have to remember that the the very clear objective and the success of VAR will also depend on how it is understood," Collina said.

"It's about avoiding clear and obvious major errors. It's not a question of refereeing the match with technology. The goal has never been to check every minor incident." read more →

Australia Test captain Tim Paine pledged on Thursday to embark on a new era of "respectful" cricket and rebuild public trust after the ball-tampering scandal that rocked the sport.

The newly appointed leader said the fallout from the tampering episode was greater than players had anticipated and promised a different style of cricket in the future.

"Going forward, we have a clean slate. We can rewrite the way we play a little bit," the 33-year-old told reporters in Tasmania's capital Hobart.

"The main thing for us is to bring the fans back to Australian cricket and make sure they like the way we are going about it – they want to come and watch and be proud of the Australian cricket team," he added.

The ball-tampering scandal during the third Test in South Africa last month stunned the sport and sparked reviews into the culture within Australian cricket.

Then captain Steve Smith and his deputy David Warner have been banned from international and domestic cricket for a year, while Cameron Bancroft was exiled for nine months, leaving the squad badly weakened.

They have all apologised and accepted the sanctions.

Paine said all three would be welcomed back to the national side but in a new environment that met public expectations.

"Certainly playing international cricket you have to be as competitive as you possibly can be, but we just have to look at different ways of doing that," he said, "more respectful ways of putting opposition teams under the pump."

Meeting on new head coach

Australia has been under heavy scrutiny for sledging and Paine said on-field talk with the opposition "will be very different going forward".

Cricket Australia (CA) announced a meeting for Friday to discuss who will replace head coach Darren Lehmann, who despite being cleared of any wrongdoing resigned amid the scandal fallout.

But it denied media reports that former Aussie opener Justin Langer had already been selected for the job.

"The process to be undertaken for the appointment of a new Australian men's head coach will be discussed and agreed at the CA board meeting this Friday," a spokesperson said in a statement.

"No appointment has been made, and nor will any candidate be put to the board for ratification on Friday."

Paine on Thursday endorsed Langer but added there were many highly regarded candidates worldwide.

Langer remains favourite to take the top job but has indicated he wants to maintain his coaching and family commitments in his home state of Western Australia.

Former Australian Test captain Ricky Ponting and former pacemen Jason Gillespie have also been touted as potential replacements for Lehmann.

Some commentators have suggested the coaching appointments be split across the three forms of the game – Tests, one-day internationals and Twenty20s. read more →